In The Crypts of Panmei
by Apprentice Mage
Summary: Darsol has returned, enlisting thousands of civilians to dig up Panmei and its borders to find ancient texts. These texts explain how to create the ultimate evil being. Of course, the Shining Force (cast from RotDD) has to save Panmei and the other neighb
1. Prologue: The Awakening of Darkness

**Prologue**

The fragile man nervously opened the door, trying as hard as he could to hide his shaky, unstable emotions. A vexing squeak pierced the silent air, echoing off a high ceiling that seemed to stretch into infinity. That aside, the room was completely quiet.

An apprehensive face was illuminated in the faint glow emanating from the opposite end of the chamber; the face belonged to the man who had previously entered. But there was another being in the chamber, neither man nor beast. This being was the embodiment of pure evil.

Through the darkness that enshrouded the room, Darksol snickered pejoratively as he materialized unexpectedly. The man gulped audibly and a sense of fear seemed to radiate from his trembling form. He knew it would be impossible to turn back now, unless he would willingly feed his soul to the Evil Being standing before him.

"And?" Darksol broke the silence that followed his appearance.

"Nothing yet, sire," the skinny man replied. "But still searching." Darksol nodded, dismissing the man. The man's name was Ramladu, and he would be an eternal slave to the power of his master.

A glowing, orange orb floated slowly across a background of pale blue. Max surveyed the valley before him, wondering where his comrades could be hiding.

A large shadow blocked him from the sunlight. It grew larger and larger, before Max finally found enough sense to look up. A mess of brown feathers and armor nearly landed on him, had he not leapt out of the way. He stood, brushed himself off, and put an annoyed look on his face.

"Excuse me, Balbaroy," he muttered. "Is there a reason why you just attempted to crush me?" The huge birdman shook his head no, and watched as his leader in combat removed several feathers from his shaggy, brown hair.

"I'm sorry, Max. Tao sent me to tell you that we've spotted a large crowd of people and that they are all in this big field, and they have shovels. She thinks they are digging for something," the birdman panted. He bowed down, not to show respect for his leader, but to offer Max to hop onto his back.

Max accepted this invitation, and Balbaroy flew off in the direction he had just come from.

A strong breeze whipped through Max's hair, sending it all over his head. His blue cape and headband fluttered off wildly behind him as Balbaroy flapped his huge wings.

A bright red glow interrupted the tranquility of their flight – as Max looked down upon it, he could immediately that something had happened that he probably didn't want to know. Balbaroy lowered his altitude slightly, just to investigate the sweeping fire below. With his birds-eye view, he could see a small band of people running deeper into the woods they were flying over.

A grunt and a small scream rent the air. Balbaroy dove into the forest, away from the fire that was consuming it. A flash of pink told Max and Balbaroy that Tao had started this fire using one of her spells. A disgruntled beast maintained a headlock on her, while struggling to keep her from kicking, punching, biting, or utilizing her magical abilities on it.

Max swiftly climbed off of Balbaroy's back, and attempted to aid his comrade. He raised his sword up, with the tip closest to the ground. "Supernova all systems go!"

A beam of energy disintegrated the hideous creature, sending Tao sailing through the air even further away from the inferno. Racing after Tao, Max yelled, "What is going on?" but received no answer.

Tao's form lay unconscious on the ground, in the midst of crackling, dry leaves. Her pink hair lay in a tangle, and her clothes were wrinkled and torn in several places.

"Why was that...that thing trying to injure Tao?" Max asked, to no one in particular. Balbaroy waddled next to his leader and shook his head.

He replied with, "I have no idea. But where is everyone else? They seemed to have run off as we arrived." The birdman looked off in the direction that he remembered his comrades running. Max did the same.

"I don't know." He turned toward the blaze, and smoothly quelled it with a spell he had learned a while back. Smoke floated upwards from the locale. Charred wood littered the ground, have buried under piles of ashes.

Standing on the opposite side of ground zero was a handful of Max's comrades – Anri, Luke, Zylo, and Khris. They spotted Max, Tao, and Balbaroy, and rushed toward the three of them.

Max wore an expression of stern befuddlement. "Will one of you please tell me what is going on?"

All four of them had some sort of ignominious expression. Anri whispered, "We couldn't stop them, Max. They were too powerful." She paused for a brief moment. "The Shianwa tribe tried to overthrow us and kidnap us. We, and a few others, managed to resist their invasion, but Ken, Lowe, Amon, Hans, and Narsha were successfully abducted."

Max was flabbergasted. He'd only been separated from the Shining Force for a week, and this was how they acted?

"Max, it isn't like we just stood there doing nothing while they kidnapped five of us," Khris interjected, seeming to read his mind. "We did fight back. In fact, we killed off most of our assailants. But the ones that survived were too powerful."

"Alright, then," Max said. "Shall we go find the five that were kidnapped?"

Ramladu made his second venture into the lair of Darksol in one day. "We've found them, milord."

"Excellent. How many did you get?" Darksol replied, anticipating a healthy number. He didn't hear what he'd wanted.

"Five, sir."

Darksol forced himself into a coughing fit, then said, "You may go, Ramladu."

As the door closed gently, Darksol strolled over to his window, and pulled aside the black curtains. As he looked out across his small kingdom within Panmei, he saw his large brigade marching through the gates.


	2. Chapter One: Chaos in the Tower

**Chapter One: Chaos in the tower**

Tao awoke from her unconscious state to see Max hovering over her; he looked extremely worried. She fully opened her eyes, and sat up. An excruciating pain in her side forced her to scream.

Khris rushed to her side, muttering several derogatory comments toward the Shianwa tribe.

Groaning, Tao managed to squeal, "Khris...I think my rib is broken!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and moistening the earth beneath her.

The healer muttered the incantation required for mending broken bones. A stream of icy blue energy ran off of Khris's fingers and staff, and was directed toward Tao's left side. The magic juxtaposed against the creamy-white canvas tarp that yielded a very crude tent. Five figures were silhouetted against the tarp – four humanoid ones and one bird-like one.

Soothing feelings began to undermine the agony Tao felt.

"What are these things and why do they want to get rid of the Shining  
Force?" Max inquired of Zylo and Luke. Glaring at the two, he looked  
like he expected an answer, but none came. After a brief pause, Max  
continued. "Well? Don't you have any information at all?" His comrades  
shook their heads.

He sighed.

"Oh well. Once Tao is well enough, let's go find the five that were kidnapped."

The two women emerged from the makeshift tent, almost ready to continue their  
quest to find their lost companions. Tao yawned slightly; she made it  
apparent that she needed a rest.

Max said, facetiously, "You were just asleep for fourteen hours!" He grinned, but agreed to take another break from their not-yet-started journey. He allowed Tao back into the canvas tarp. "Just don't be too long!" he called.

He removed his headband and cape, and laid down on his back, on the  
dirty ground. They were out of the forest now, and under a bright,  
sunny sky. The tower looming in the distance reminded Max of why he  
was fighting the evil threatening his land. A foreboding darkness  
hovered over the massive skyscraper. Darksol's lair.

Zylo ensconced himself a few feet from Max, against a tree trunk. He  
sighed as he leaned back, looking up at the myriad of limbs and  
boughs, with small green leaves adorning each of them.

"Why can't evil be like the leaves, Max?" Zylo inquired, sighing again.

"Hm?" Max lifted himself off of the ground, and turned toward Zylo.  
"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that, leaves never harm anyone, yet everyone seems to  
hold some sort of grudge against them – they burn down forests, they  
cut down trees, they pick leaves off of trees...Why can't people be more  
considerate, and not do anything to hurt anyone else?"

Max was surprised that Zylo, who had single-handedly fought off many  
of their previous threats, was saying this. He hesitated a moment,  
then spoke.

"Zylo," he began, "evil is a strange thing. It works much differently than you'd think. When one is like Darksol, there is a shroud of irrationality that blinds them into thinking that destruction is the right thing to do."

"But...what causes them to be ev- like that?" the wolfman pressed on.

The leader of the Shining Force shook his head, signaling that he had no idea. "Sometimes...they are born like that. Sometimes, they are influenced by other people or things...but, to be totally honest, I don't know."

Zylo nodded, and laid himself down on the ground. "You think Darksol can be defeated? I mean, he has so much protection and so many warriors advocating him that one's knees would be knocking together just thinking about it."

Max glared at his companion. "Zylo," he said, pausing. "As a 'hero' to Guardiana, I make it a point not hold any doubts whatsoever when thinking about fighting Darksol." He stood, holding his hair in an annoyed fashion. "Now, will you please stop asking me petty questions that I have to think about? I'm really tired and would like a rest."

- - -

Darksol stood two thousand feet above the ground, on his petite balcony tucked into a small alcove on the east side of his monstrous tower. He looked out across the plains and fields of tall grass that engulfed the structure, combing the area for some sort of signal. He didn't expect to see any, but he couldn't be too sure. With the thousands of captors digging about, one of them would have to find it sooner or later.

"Master." Darksol turned and was startled to find Ramladu standing in the doorframe. He looked furious, but before he could take one breath, Ramladu apologized, and continued. "One of our Air Scouts claims that they saw the Shining Force making their way here."

"This is not an opportunity to start complaining or worrying, Ramladu." Darksol was scowling.

"Yes, sire." Ramladu turned and walked off, bright red cape billowing in the air behind him. He soon disappeared down the stairs, leaving Darksol on his own again.

Giving in to that day, Darksol faced the door and disappeared into the enormous tower. The leaves of the trees in the plaza below grew darker and darker in the fading daylight, and Ramladu whipped past them without stopping to admire their beauty. For, he was too infested with bad thoughts to be stopping for that sort of thing.

- - -

Lowe trudged through the thick forest with two armed guards at either of his sides. He couldn't possibly escape now, and didn't have enough magical ability to get himself out of whatever would be presented to him. The healer didn't doubt that Darksol would force him into some sort of grueling laborious task. But he wasn't thinking of these things at the moment; he was only thinking about the other four of his comrades that had been captured, and wondering how they were faring.

The vicar carried his staff in his right hand, wondering how much physical damage he could deal to the two guards with it. But he decided against it, seeing the plan as futile; the two men had pistols, which were something new to Lowe. He'd never heard of a metal machine that could spit lead out at others.

The forestcleared, showing an open field littered with unwashed civilians. Lowe stared in horror.

"Do I have to work-" Lowe started, but was cut off by a grunt and nod from one of the guards. The vicar sighed. _Just great_, Lowe thought, putting a disgusted expression on his face. _As if anything I do is going to make them change their minds..._ He walked out into the field, stumbling past a myriad of holes that the people were digging.

Upon arrival at the tower, a servant of Darksol's asked for some sort of card. Lowe couldn't understand the accent that the servant was talking in, but remembered the two guards forcing a slip of paper into one of his pockets. He pulled it out, revealing his name to the person in front of him.

Darksol's servant collected the card from him, and told him to grab anything that could penetrate the dirt on the ground, and start digging. Lowe opened his mouth to inquire, "Dig for what?" but the man just silenced him and dismissed him. He sighed again, and started off to find a vacant area in the enormous field.

- - -

Ken the centaur cantered a few yards ahead of his captors. He couldn't stand trotting with the ugly beings, and was bothered by the fact that he'd let them capture him. He kept revisiting the moment that they were able to subdue his wild kicking, and how he could've crushed them, but hesitated a moment too long. He should've won that battle. And now, the centaur decided that it was because of him that he and four of his companions in the Force were kidnapped.

His blonde tail swayed with every step he took. Low-lying limbs of trees whipped past him as he increased his pace, almost as if he wanted to escape. And he badly wanted to, but knew that that would be impossible; he had seen those long, metal machines before, and knew what sorts of things they could do to him. The last thing he needed now was an injury.

Jumping a few feet above the ground, the majestic paladin just cleared the stone wall that marked the territory of Darksol. They had almost reached their destination point. The trees and shrubs became sparser and more widely spaced than they were in the forest. Soon enough, the trees disappeared, and were replaced with grass that almost reached his haunches.

Only a short gallop away stood the towering building that Darksol resided in. Even closer were the enslaved people of Panmei and the surrounding countries digging holes all over the place.

"How am I supposed to dig holes?" the centaur muttered to himself. "I can barely reach the ground with a shovel."

Ken approached someone standing in the lovely plaza outside of Darksol's tower. The person eyed the centaur from top to bottom, and decided that digging wouldn't be the right thing for this particular case.

"Follow me," Darksol's servant said, strictly. The servant turned, and strode toward the skyscraping structure. Ken allowed his legs to trot after the person, and soon caught up with him. Out of the corner of his eye, Ken thought he spotted Lowe. He eyed the person he claimed to be a member of the Force, and determined it was. Rather than calling out to him, Ken decided that doing that would only cause separation between them while working here.

After seeing Lowe again, Ken was reminded of the kidnapping. After two of the muscular Shianwa members successfully managed to capture one member of the Force, they all went off in their own directions, traveling away from each other. Ken was thrust toward the north by his captors, and he tried to resist them. He did not succeed, but managed to acquire a bruise on his face because of it.

The paladin was snapped back into the present when a skinny, elder man in a red cape hit his arm quite hard.

"Ramladu," he breathed, making sure that anyone who heard him could sense his disgust. He managed to calm himself down, and not start a riot.

Ramladu grinned evilly, and replied, "Yes, Ken, it's me. And I have a special job for you. You are going to help built a line of fortifications around Panmei, to ensure your friends don't attempt to overthrow what Master Darksol has achieved." Ramladu was already making Ken's temper boil. "Here are your new comrades." He motioned toward a group of civilians huddled together a little further into the tower. "There are, of course, going to be more added to your group as we acquire new captives."

Ken chose then to act. He lifted his front legs, kicking Ramladu straight in the face with his rock solid hooves. Darksol's first servant was sent sailing through the air as half a dozen of the Shianwa guards rushed into the building. Bullets were flying all around the foyer of the tower, a few managing to embed themselves in the fine granite walls.

Ken miraculously survived this shootout, with his fist firmly gripping the back of his invincible shield. He gained on the guards, taking out all six of them with a few kicks of his hind legs.

The servant that Ken met up with in the plaza was mumbling something under their breath, in a corner of the room. Soon enough, crystals of ice were conjured up and sent flying in the direction of the paladin. He knew he couldn't dodge this attack, and braced himself for the worst.

A cold wave passed over him, freezing his armor and making his limbs stiff and numb. He collapsed as his knees buckled underneath him, feeling a sharp pain in his two front legs. He whinnied and shrieked annoyingly, causing only more noise to fill the foyer.

A door at the end of the hallway flew open, and the embodiment of pure evil entered the chaotic room.


	3. Chapter Two: Reign of Terror

A being that was too large to be a bird, yet too small to be a jet-propelled flyer, floated just above the tips of the trees that made up the huge forest. Wings flapped gracefully and naturally, letting the leaves rustle about in the trees just below.

That being was a birdman, and the wife of Balbaroy. Her name was Amon, and she was the queen of the now-demolished Shade Abbey. Her blue wings juxtaposed nicely against her creamy white feathers, and her shining silver armor.

She could've flown higher, but she was under a powerful spell that could control her altitude while flying. The two ugly beasts that walked below her were the ones controlling the spell on her.

Amon was very clumsy with a sword, and thus, was one of the first of the five to be caught. She could struggle and distract the Shianwa warriors with her powerful wings, but it wouldn't do much to help her situation.

Her sword had been confiscated the moment she was under the influence of the guards, and had no means of protecting herself.

As her wings flapped rhythmically, she reflected on her situation: "Darksol is the last person I wanted to be wasting my time working for," she stated, dryly. "Why wouldn't he just kidnap Max? His business would be done much quicker that way…" She didn't know what hit her, but she suddenly realized why Darksol hadn't just kidnapped Max. Darksol, she contemplated, wanted to see Max suffer. But, in addition, he wanted to draw Max to Panmei, with the whole Force with him!

"And the best part about his plan is that there is no one to warn Max of this," Amon said, quietly. The rest of her journey to Darksol's territory was silent.

- - -

Bright blue hair bobbed along a trail. Bright blue hair on a small, childlike head, surrounded by ugly beings. The woman's delicate robes were being dragged along carelessly on the ground, attracting bugs, dirt and filth.

_A princess shouldn't be treated like this!_ Narsha, the princess of Runefaust, thought, horrified. _How rude!_

Of the five Shining Force members that were kidnapped, Narsha was the one worse off than any of the others. Rather than having two guards accompanying her to Panmei, she had six. Of course, this provided her with fewer opportunities to escape the clutches of evil that were bringing her in.

She stumbled along, gluing her eyes to the ground as she walked. There was obviously no way that Narsha could escape from the Shianwa, no matter who came to rescue her.

The blue-haired guru looked up once, and noticed a sky to match her robes. They had emerged from the forest, and were making their way through a sunny field. She felt as if this field would offer some sort of hope to set her free; she noticed several birds flying majestically toward the sky, freer than she.

Gray clouds soon consumed the sky; the sun had disappeared. One enormous, tall building stood only a few hundred yards ahead. She knew where she was. Her father had dragged her here once, having planned to imprison her in the cellars of the building.

Her father. She had never known someone to betray her more than her father had. But that was explainable. Her father was Ramladu.

- - -

An archer would feel empty without his bow. This is exactly how Hans, the silver-haired archer, felt after those savage beasts had torn him from his campsite. They had stripped him of his only weapon; he felt naked without his bow and quiver.

But most of all, Hans felt embarrassed that he had let his team down. The Shining Force needed his excellent archery skills. There wasn't an archer in a thousand miles that could equally match Hans for talent.

The bowmaster tried not to imagine what sorts of grueling tasks Darksol would force him to do – wash every window in his tower? Scrub every square inch of the forlorn place? He knew that whatever it was, he would much rather put an arrow through Darksol's thick skull.

He wondered how Ken, Lowe, Narsha, and Amon were dealing with this torture. How long would it be until he saw them again? How long would it be until he saw anyone he knew again?

A strong gust almost whisked off his hat, which was the same hue as the leaves that were dancing rhythmically in the wind. The archer's silver hair swayed in sync with the wind. Glancing at the two bulky beings at either side of him, Hans noticed that the both of them proceeded, unperturbed by the mini-gale.

The bowmaster's excellent sense of hearing picked up a very faint, high-pitched noise; someone very far off was screaming – probably a female, judging by the pitch. Perhaps it was Narsha.

Sighing, he began to wonder if he would ever be liberated. He knew he could count on Max to help him and his fellow Force members get out of this, and possibly undermine Darksol's growing empire. But something was nagging at him, something he felt was a bad sign.

He was fully able to see Darksol's tower; it loomed monstrously a few hundred yards away. Gasping, he thought of why exactly Darksol had wanted to capture him and a few of his comrades when Max was absent. The evil being obviously wanted Max to gravitate toward his kingdom, and once the leader of the Shining Force was close enough, Darksol could efficiently annihilate him and the rest of the do-gooders that would try to stop him from reigning over Panmei and everywhere else with pure evil.

"We've arrived," was all the Shianwa guards offered to Hans.

- - -

Max woke up the remaining members of the Shining Force to tell them of a special arrival they had received. Grumpily, Tao, Khris, Zylo, and Luke emerged from their sleeping spots in their campsite to discover a few acquaintances. Members of the Shining Force that had scampered off into hiding had returned to them.

In a single-file line, a blonde, female centaur by the name of Mae, a silver-haired sorceress named Anri, a magenta-haired, female archer called Diane, and an enormous insect-like being by the name of Zuika stood on the border of the Shining Force's campsite. They all appeared to be overwhelmed with relief that they had reunited.

With her crossbow securely fastened to her back, Diane marched into the campsite, followed by the insectoid being, the centaur, and the sorceress. Max greeted each of them with an embrace, or a firm handshake in Zuika's case.

Tough as she was in battle, Mae couldn't hide her tearing eyes behind her thick, blond hair or her shining silver armor. She didn't let herself break down and cry, but her eyes welled up and were wet with tears. "Max," she said, relaxing only slightly, "I can't believe we let five of the Shining Force members get kidnapped by the Shianwa."

Max attempted to comfort the blonde centaur, and reassure her that it wasn't her fault. "Mae… it wasn't your fault. If anything, it would be my fault. I was the one who left you all to be on my own for a while. I let you guys down, and left you unprotected."

Anri dug her sky blue scepter into the ground, deciding whose side to take. She breathed in a lungful of air, and interrupted the conversation. "Max, it is our fault that the Shianwa were able to capture Ken, Lowe, Amon, Narsha, and Hans. I can tell you the whole story, not just a vague description of what happened."

Max glowered at Anri. "Well, go on! Don't keep me waiting and sassing Mae!"

Anri sighed, and began.

- - -

"What's happened here, Sawen?" Darksol's voice echoed throughout the foyer of his magnificent tower. What had once been a finely polished, inviting entrance to his large tower had now been reduced to a place that looked like some sort of major battle took place within it.

The mage that had made himself out to be clandestine and sneaky suddenly turned meek and very quiet. "I- This beast tried to rebel against the Shianwa that were guarding him. They opened fire on him demo, but he took them all out in a couple of blows. I tried to stop him by casting a very powerful Freeze spell, which seemed to be very effective in paralyzing the centaur." Sawen glanced triumphantly at Ken; the centaur sat, unable to move, in the front left corner of the room.

The Evil Being scowled in the general direction of the mage. "You idiot!"

The mage's triumphant expression vanished with those two words. His master continued, "You paralyzed a valuable key in our quest to ruling over this land!"

_Wow_, Ken thought. I _had no clue I was so valuable._ He snickered quietly to himself, and gloated over his small victory.

"…you'll have to care for Ken, Sawen. And trust me, if you do anything at all to harm him again, I will have you executed," Darksol concluded.

"I'm very sorry, Master Darksol," Sawen ruefully replied. He turned to the centaur and shyly said, "Come with me to the hospital floor."

Ken grunted annoyingly and pointed at his legs. Sawen scowled and performed a Heal level one spell on the paralyzed centaur. A soothing feeling took over his legs, and Ken was able to stand up and walk again.

Even if it was great to walk again, Ken noticed with every step he took that there was a sharp, explicit pain shooting from his hooves to his flanks. Trying not to wince or flinch, Ken limped all the way to the stairwell, where he sighed. He knew it would be a tough journey up those steps, a few of them as there were.

- - -

Leaves rustled as Max led his Force through the remainder of the forest, and closer to Panmei. Of course, they were still quite a way off from Panmei, but they were gaining ground on Darksol and his reign of terror.

A twig snapped, and Max and the force spun to face in the direction that it came from. A paranoia of evil beings following them choked Max, but was relieved to see that evil wasn't about to attack them blindly.

A human emerged from the flora around them; he looked as if he was born and raised in the wild, with minimal human interaction. He looked similar to Max, with brown hair with a green headband tied where the roots grew and had brown eyes. The only thing setting them apart was that he had no shirt, but several scars on his chest. This human had a strap on his chest, which was connected on his back by a long sword. His dark green kilt-type clothing was lightened by several hues in the sunlight, and he wore no shoes.

"And who are you?" Max inquired of the man. "You look vaguely familiar."

The man appeared to be hostile toward the group at first, but finally succumbed to them and answered the question. His speaking was choppy and awkward, but the Shining Force had no trouble deciphering it.

"I… am… called Shuo," the man replied. The leader of the Shining Force studied the man for a brief moment, and decided where he had met him before.

"Shuo…I know who you are," Max blurted out. "I thought you had died that one night a long time ago." Shuo wore an expression of befuddlement. "Shuo," Max continued, "you are my twin brother."

Tao gasped in shock, covering her mouth afterwards. "Max," she said. "You never said you had…"

Max nodded. "I know. As I said, I thought Shuo had died many years ago. When we were really young, as in five or six years old, there was a very big war going on. My mother and father decided it would be best for my brothers Kane and Shuo and me to flee the country before the war hit our town. So we ran away, but we ran straight into the war that was slowly consuming the continent.

"As we were settling into our tiny campsite one night, five or six members of the enemy tribe, whom I forget the name of, crept into our campsite and tried to kill us. But they were unsuccessfully; we fought them off. However, the day following that one, Kane and I noticed that Shuo was missing, and decided that the enemy tribe had kidnapped him and killed him. We never saw him since.

"After the war, we met up with our parents again, and my mother sent Kane and I into the future using these capsules that I found in Metapha. I had no idea that she might've sent Shuo here, because Kane and I believed him to be dead!"

Anri bowed her head, and said, "Max…you should've told us." Everyone else in the Shining Force agreed.

"So Shuo, do you want to come with us in our quest to slaughter Darksol?" Max asked. Shuo nodded, and they set off again in their search for the ultimate Evil Being.


End file.
